Sundress
by tofu-melon
Summary: [RyoSaku] Sakuno's birthday started out as the worst, but then her oneshoed knight in shining armor appears out of the blue... and then...


**Sundress**

Sakuno didn't like it. She didn't like the way it clung to her chest, showing off her rather immature body; she hated the way is flared at the bottom, the possibility of a wind blowing and knocking it up was high, and she hated the little pink bows that decorated the strap; it looked childish.

But Sakuno had been raised as a polite girl, so she bowed her head deeply to her grandmother, trying to hide the disappointment on her face. "Thank you grandma," she put as much sincerity in as possible.

Sumire chuckled, brushing her fingers through the girl's long brown locks and smiled gently. "Of course. No need to thank me. It's the most I could to with your 15th birthday just tomorrow and how much you've worked this year. Your tennis has improved a lot."

Indeed, Sakuno also thought she had gotten better in tennis. Where as she was once too afraid of the ball to actually hit it, she could now properly serve the ball across the net. The young girl looked up to her grandmother and beamed, "I've been practicing a lot! I can control the ball really well now!"

Sumire nodded, her eyes kind, "Of course, as expected of my granddaugther." Sakuno felt proud. And the distress over her just received sundress was forgotten for the moment.

But of course, there is always a time when the dreaded comes back to haunt you. And Sakuno held the dress up in the light and nearly cried. "Grandmaaaaa.." she whined, closing her eyes, looking pitiful, even to herself.

But in the end, yet reluctantly, Sakuno pulled the dress on and looked at herself in the mirror. She didn't like what she saw, no, she never liked what she saw in the mirror. Sakuno sighed, brushing the knots out of her hair then expertly braiding them into a single braid. He grabbed her hair clips and stuck them into her hair, organizing the loose strands and pulling some of her troublesome bangs back.

Sakuno ran her hand over the dress, attempting to straighten the flare, but was proved unsuccessful of her desperate attempts. "Aaah!" she moaned, "I don't wanna go anymore... not in this..."

"_In honor of Sakuno's birthday! We shall all go and par-tay! Oh, oh! I wanna see that new dress your grandma got for you! Is it pretty? Is it pretty! If it's pretty you'll let me borrow it right? Aaaah! Sakuno, please wear it! Ryoma-sama will be there! Oh... and the other three guys just invited themselves. But don't mind them! RYOMA-SAMAAAAAA!"_

Sakuno shook her head, recalling her last phone conversation with her best friend. "Tomo-chan..."

So Sakuno trudged. She let her feet drag upon the concrete street, looking depressed but secretly enjoying the way her toes felt when they brushed against the street. She gripped her dress tightly in her hand in order to prevent it from flying up.

Sakuno looked up in hope of seeing the restaurant where Tomoka had told Sakuno to come for the party. But she realized she was still farther than she hoped to be. Sakuno sighed, absently kicking at a rock. She hated days like these.

Then a cold, jeering laughter erupted from behind her, and she snuck a peek at a pair of high schoolers, laughing rather cruelly at something or another. Sakuno turned back around, attempting to ignore them. But she felt uneasy and she shuffled her feet awkwardly as she walked.

Then without warning, she felt a hand brush against her waist, and Sakuno stiffened. But she didn't turn and continued to walk, faster this time. But even with her quickened pace, she felt skin brush against the back of her knee this time, dangerously close to where the hem of her dress was hovering. Sakuno was tempted to break out into an all-out run. But she continued with her quickened pace. But the third touch was something that was not appreciated at all. This was harassment. And Sakuno let out a squeak when she felt a hand fist her dress.

Sakuno now turned, freeing herself of the hand. The same pair now sneered rather darkly at her, and Sakuno felt the need to scream, or at least defend herself by throwing her shoe at them or something...

But Sakuno didn't get the chance to, as someone beat her to it.

Yes, a shoe came flying, and smacked one of the offenders, hitting the side of his face.

Sakuno gapped like a fish at the knocked down figure for a few seconds before looking up at her hero. And her jaw slacked again, "R-Ryoma-kun..."

Yes, Echizen Ryoma stood there like a king... a one-shoed king, but a king none-the-less. He pointed a mocking finger at the still-standing boy and spat at the ground just for effect. "Get out of my sight, if you don't want to end up like your friend there."

The boy ran like his life depended on it.

Sakuno, still in shock, stared as Ryoma walked up to her and rolled his eyes. The dark-haired boy reached down for his shoe, and with a finger at the end, he slid his foot in with ease. Ryoma straightened up and looked at Sakuno, who was still in stunned shock. The boy 'hmph'-ed and began to walk, snapping Sakuno out of her daze and on impulse she grabbed the boy's wrist.

"Eep...!" The brown-haired girl's eyes widened as she felt the heat of Ryoma in her hand, and her face warmed. "U-um... Ryoma-kun... I--"

"Don't thank me," he said it nonchalantly, but the look he tossed her from over his shoulder was gentle. He pulled his wrist from Sakuno's grip and reached back to grab her hand in his own. "C'mon, that friend of your's is probably waiting."

Sakuno didn't answer. She hadn't moved either. She continued to stare in amazement at the hand that wrapped tightly around her's. Her heart fluttered as if a butterfly's wings were attached to it.

"U-um...!" her stutter came out louder than intended, but it grabbed the other's attention. Ryoma looked back at the girl's bright red face questioningly. "Hm?"

Sakuno looked down at her sandaled foot and wiggled her toes nervously, fidgeting slightly as well. "U-um... i-if you don't mind... I... I don't really... want to go to my party..." as she went on, her voice simply died into a nervous whisper.

Ryoma stared for a moment, his eyes looked her up-and-down and he turned his head back and looked at the road straight ahead. He let out a heavy sigh.

Sakuno took this as a sign of discontent and her head snapped up and she furiously shook it. "No! No! If you don't want to! You could just go!"

"Stupid," Ryoma said, dropping his hand to his side and turning around to face the other girl fully. "If you're not there what good is the party going to be?"

Sakuno bit the corner of her lip and looked elsewhere. '_Tomo-chan would still enjoy herself, if you were there... Ryoma-kun..'_ "I'm sorry... just forget I said that. Haha, I'm kinda stupid..." '_I think I'm going to cry...!'_

Ryoma sighed, scratching the back of his head tiredly. "Then..." he started, getting the other's attention. Sakuno looked up, unshed tears shining bright in her eyes. The corners of her lips twitched as she looked at the pensive face of the boy with pitiful eyes.

"Then..." Ryoma repeated, finally opening his brilliant amber-shaded eyes, "... can I ask you out on a date?"

Sakuno faltered for a moment. Her lips formed an 'O', and her eyes were wide and round. "... ... ... what?" Sakuno was sure she had misheard that.

"Can I ask you out on a date?" Ryoma repeated, slower this time.

Sakuno, still certain she was hearing something wrong in that sentence leaned closer, her ear toward the other's mouth. "C-can you repeat that, Ryoma-kun?"

Ryoma twitched. "May I ask you out on a date?" he growled through grit teeth.

Sakuno stood up straight, her expression unchanging. She looked around for a bit, as if she was expecting Ryoma to be talking to someone else. Then she looked the boy directly in the eyes before breaking out into tears.

Ryoma raised an eyebrow as he saw the girl sputtering indistinguishable words through her tears, and he waited for a minute for Sakuno to compose herself. When she did, she was feeling rather yucky and her head was throbbing as well. "Um..." she started, her voice sounding stuffy, "... well..."

Ryoma turned around, his back straight. "I'm leaving," he said, rather abruptly.

Sakuno panicked. She flailed her arms and grabbed at the boy. "No!" she wailed, lost her balance and found her body flushed up against the other's. The two were silent.

Ryoma looked down at the unmoving mop of brown hair and opened his mouth to say something like, "Get off" or maybe even a "No bra?" just to see her reaction. But Sakuno's voice came first.

"I... I want to go on a date with Ryoma-kun. I really do... because I really like Ryoma-kun a lot..."

Ryoma could picture her blushing face, but his attentions were directed elsewhere as a hand fisted the cloth of his shirt and he felt a gentle warmth in his chest and the want to smile kindly.

"So... I'm okay with going on a date with Ryoma-kun..." she whispered quietly. Ryoma frowned.

Sakuno has never felt so embarrassed in her entire life. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, almost making it impossible to breath. And she closed her eyes shut, waiting dreadfully for the response of the other. But no words were spoken, instead, Sakuno felt an arm wrap around her waist and lift her up off her feet. Her eyes met Ryoma's and she placed her hands on his shoulders in surprise. Ryoma was smiling.

"If you want to go out on a date with me... then don't be so submissive to everyone. Say no sometimes. It makes you seem stronger. And if you want to go out with me... then smile."

Sakuno stared with wonder at the other's handsome face for a moment, before her lips spread into a brilliant smile and a quiet laugh escaped her.

She felt like a child again.

After a minute or two of keeping her up in the sky, Ryoma gently set Sakuno back down and put a hand on her head and fingered her braid. "I like your dress by the way." And he took off, taking quick, long strides as he walked away.

Sakuno stood, her hands clenched in her dress again... but this time with a different meaning. And with a bright smile she walked... towards her new love, her new light, and maybe... maybe she was walking towards her new future. But right now... she didn't care about those things... the only thought that crossed her mind, '_I've gotta thank grandma for this dress again.'_

-end-

ha. my head and heart hurt.


End file.
